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Scalia's Comments on Law School: Two vs Three Years

It's Obama vs Scalia as the debate rages about whether to limit law school to two years.

By Ben Feuer

After Barack Obama suggested that law schools reduce student debt by cutting the time required to earn a degree down to two years, Justice Scalia fired back not just at Obama but at the entire institution of Law school. His position is that constitutional issues are underrepresented and too many 'frilly' courses have taken their place. The law schools he was criticizing then fired back at Scalia, insisting that everything they do is right and good.

So how does all of this hullabaloo affect YOUR application to law school, be it this year or next year? You are unlikely to benefit from any substantial reforms, so why worry about it at all?

Simple. Because it has a direct impact on what kind of lawyering you want to do when you graduate, or indeed, whether you want to be a lawyer at all. Do you want to study theory, become a constitutional heavyweight, perform intricate deals and corporate transactions, or maybe start your own non-profit or business? There's no wrong answer -- unless your answer is not to think about the problem at all.

Consider how this factors into your choices of extracurriculars and essay topics. Are you using all the available space to really set yourself apart from the pack? If the reader isn't coming away with a pretty good guess as to what kind of lawyer you will turn out to be, you're not doing your job. Remember, it's not a contract, but it is a way of helping admissions get to know you better -- and that's a good thing.

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